1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wristwatches and particularly to wristwatches that have movable movement cases.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wristwatches have become the standard means of timekeeping for millions of people. They are a convenient way to quickly check the time by simply raising a forearm turning the wrist on which the watch is placed so that one can see the face of the watch. Normally, this takes a couple of seconds and presents no great difficulties.
There are times, however when a user cannot move the wrist so that the face can be seen. These include driving a vehicle, flying a plane, and many other instances in which the hands are not in position so that the watch face can be seen, or, instances in which the hands cannot be easily moved to a viewing position safely.
Some examples of designs that have been developed to allow viewing from different positions include U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,356, which discloses a watch that uses a gravity switch to turn on the face display. In this way, the display is only activated when the user has the watch in the normal viewing position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,587 discloses a watch that has a face on the side of the watchcase. This design also incorporates a buckle system mounted on the top of the watchcase. Thus, when this watch is being worn, it is viewed from the side of the wrist. U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,833 teaches a watch that has a formed case that conforms to a user's wrist so that when worn, the face of the watch is on the side of the wrist. In this way, a user does not have to turn the wrist to view the face. U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,702 teaches another watch that is to be worn on the side of the wrist. This patent also shows a design that uses a “U” shaped band on which a watch face is placed. In the latter design, the watch is simple slipped onto the wrist, where it is held in place by friction. U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,256 teaches a device that has a decorative face. This face has formed pieces that form a distinct pattern behind a set of watch hands. U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,731 discloses a watch that has a minimal display that can be repositioned. This allows the watch to have a number of functions besides time keeping. It also allows the display to be positioned on the side of the watch so that it can be seen without turning the wrist.
All of these watches can be used to display the time in different ways. Unfortunately, none of these watches allows a user to view the time while the watch is held in a number of positions in which conventional watch faces cannot be seen.